Bring the Kids: Nikko, Japan

One of the best day trips from Tokyo, and my personal favorite, is the town of Nikko. A two hour train ride from Tokyo through beautiful countryside, views of rice fields and mountains, and a reserved seats. It's a dream.

Unless you have kids.

In which case, you are bravely trying to sit in only two reserved seats with your two children and a stroller. One has pushed you almost completely out of the seat, and the other keeps trying to escape. Both are whining and screaming because it's nap time. Good times.

But it's ok.

Once you are in Nikko and walking around, it really is a great experience! I mentioned this in the other posts about Japan, but I am so grateful for our Pockit Stroller! It made this trip so much nicer. We were able to have it folded up in the train (Lord knows, we needed the extra space), and then just pop it right out at the station. Also, being able to fold it right back up and stick it in a backpack in the areas that weren't stroller friendly made it possible for us to see everything without dragging around a bulky stroller!

Getting around the town of Nikko with a stroller is easy, but once you get to the heritage sites, it isn't very stroller friendly. So this is a place where you will want to have a baby carrier on hand for the little one! There are a lot of steps, and gravel leading up to the temples and shrines.

HOW TO GET THERE

The easiest and cheapest way is to go to Asakusa station, find the Tobu tourist information center, and request an all area pass, or a town pass if you don't have enough time to visit the other areas. It includes the train ticket and a pass for using the transportation the town has to offer, plus information. So, after purchasing your Nikko City Pass (or all area pass), you head to the platform they tell you, and find your seats on the Shinkansen (bullet train). Just remember your train times are set and chosen, so don't miss your returning train!

WHAT TO SEE

There are so many historic sites, shrines and temples, that you may have difficulty seeing them all in one day. The top recommended are;

• Toshogu Shrine
• Rinnoji Temple
• Futarasan Shrine
• Shinkyo Bridge

We managed to see all of them, but only paid for entrance into Toshogu. If you only have time for one, I HIGHLY recommend Toshogu!

WHAT WE DID

We took the 10 AM train from Asakusa and arrived in Nikko in time for lunch. We grabbed Bento's in the station to share, and then we hit the road! We totally could have taken the bus with our passes, but we decided to walk to the heritage sites, since they weren't that far. 

After walking through the town, we came to the famous Shinkyo Bridge (pictured above). The town sort of ends right there at the bridge, and turns into a forested area. You can't walk across the bridge, but you can get tons of amazing photos of it, and explore the bit of town that's right near it. After the bridge, cross over to the other side, and you will see a set of stone stairs going up the mountain.

We folded up the stroller and headed up the stairs. There are quite a few, so if you are out of shape, just take a few breaks along the way. Nearly all of the shrines and temples are tucked away in this forest, and if you follow the paths, you can find them all. We weren't feeling particularly ambitious with our two cranky kids, so we had one goal for the day - Toshogu. And just that in itself is a pretty big goal!

The buses can bring you there, but you still have to walk up a LONG gravel road, up some stairs, up a ramp, and up some more stairs before you actually get to the entrance. You have to pay entrance fee's to get into everything, but man is it worth it! Toshogu is stunning, and incredibly ornate! It isn't just one little shrine that you walk around once you're inside, but rather, a cluster of shrines and temples all in that area. So even if you didn't pay to see everything, you still get to see the outside of everything. 

We spent, maybe an hour two just wandering around the temple area and taking in the sights. It honestly took longer for us to actually figure out where to go and get there. We had some time before our train was supposed to leave, and if the kids hadn't decided to be cranky-pants, we would have taken the bus to one of the many waterfalls in the area... But instead, we decided to hang out and explore the shops in town, and grab some dinner before the long train ride back to Tokyo.